Update | Chinese teenager abducted by Islamist militants, say Philippine police
Six armed men abducted an 18-year-old Chinese man in the southern Philippines on Thursday evening, local police said, suggesting the kidnappers were Islamist insurgents.
Six armed men abducted an 18-year-old Chinese man in the southern Philippines on Thursday evening, local police said, suggesting the kidnappers were Islamist insurgents who fund their struggle with ransom payments.
“Most likely, they were Muslim militants,” Police Superintendant Jose Bayani Legados Gucela of the Philippine police’s Regional 9 office told the South China Morning Post.
“We cannot yet divulge the identity of the suspects as the investigation is still ongoing.”
The armed men kidnapped the Chinese national at his family-run store in Kabasalan municipality in Zamboanga Sibugay province at around 6pm on Thursday. The kidnappers also stole 20,000 pesos (HK$3,524) from the store’s cash register.
The victim was identified as Li Peizhi, 18, the store’s manager.
A Suzuki minivan the kidnappers used for the assault was found burnt about 2km away from Li’s store.
As of Friday, the kidnappers had not established contact with the authorities or made ransom demands, Gucela said.
He said this was the third kidnapping of a Chinese citizen in Kabasalan, a coastal municipality of about 40,000 people, in recent memory.
Chinese nationals Lin Yuankai and Luo Jian were abducted in the area in June 2011. Luo was freed two months later after paying a ransom. Lin was freed by police and Philippine Navy SEALs in September 2012.
The kidnapping occurred on the same day China's foreign ministry advised its citizens to avoid travelling to the Philippines.
The Chinese embassy in Manila could not be reached for immediate comment on Friday morning.
Additional reporting by Teddy Ng
